Pop-up drain valve



Oct. 3, 1961 c. w. MACKEY, JR

POP-UP DRAIN VALVE Filed Sept. 29. 1959 INVENTOR Charles W. Mack:

If, JR.

TTORNEY United States Patent t) 3,002,196. POP-UP "DRAIN VALVE Charles W'. Mackey; .Jrt, Cheshire, Conm, assiguor to This invention relatesrto;improvements in a drainevalye-v and. particularly to. a pop-up. type of drain valve.

One of' the 1 objects of this invention .is. to 'provide' a pop-up drain valve. in which-the plug member is constructed andconnectedtoits operating mechanism in such a manner as-toavoid any projections. or obstructions such as would catch hair or other foreign. matter passing.- through .the drain, andthus interfere with the drainagesystem;

Another object is to providea-drain valye.of-.the above type in which the pop-up drain plug can be easily assembled into the drain: line requiring onlyra minor adjustment to register and connect said plugwith its operating mechanism.

Another object of the invention is to provide apop-up plug that-drops bygravit-y intothe drain'pipe and" cannot be assembled in -a--wrongposition-becauseits position in the drain pipe will-determine whether'or not the plug is in proper registry with its operating mechanism...

A'further objectistoprovide a pop-up plug that can be easily removed without having to disassemble any of the drainage pipes or disconnect it from the operating mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description when read in connec tion with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a pop-up drain valve embodying my invention showing it installed in a portion of a lavatory bowl with the valve in closed position;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the operating end of the valve mechanism as it appears when the drain plug is in an elevated drain position;

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 with the plug rotated 45, resting on top of the operating blade and on a larger scale; and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the drain plug, per se.

Referring now to the details of construction in the drawing, the numeral designates a lavatory bowl to which is fitted a tubular outlet drain pipe 11 having a valve seat 12 at its upper end and an externally threaded surface 11a at its lower end by means of which the pipe is secured to the bowl by the usual nut 13 and sealing washer 14. A T-connection 15 is attached to the lower end of the drain pipe 11 by means of an enlarged tapped neck 16 having threaded engagement with said drain pipe. The neck 16 is formed with a circumferential hollow head 17 that joins said neck to the T-connection at a shoulder 18 and a suitable sealing ring 19 is positioned within said head. A lateral tubular extension 20 connects to the sidewall of the T-connection 15 and in which operates the valve operating mechanism to be described later.

A pop-up drain plug forming a part of the valve mechanism is generally designated by the numeral 21 and consists of a head 22 having a beveled edge 22a for sealing engagement with the valve seat 12, and a series of longitudinal radial ribs 23 are joined to each other along the center axis of said plug and integrally connected to the underside of the head 22 and preferably there are four ribs arranged in a cross-shaped pattern. The ribs 23 are of such length as to extend well into the area of the T-connection 15 where the lateral extension 20 is joined thereto and are so dimensioned that the outer edges 23a are in. slidable engagement-withim the. interior.- eithe joined drain.pipe-.:11 and.-T!eonnection\ 15 andThave-anoe interruptions throughtheir entireeleugth. The lower port tion of each rib 23 is increased in thickness as at 24 ands provided .witha .cam engaging-islotli formed-upwardly therein and opening, outwardly,throughetheouter edge of--= the rib thickened. portion 24 and-.also throughtheimbot-r tom edges, and when joined as shown in FIG; 3,=-forrn..a.. cross-shaped channel. 7 V

The. lower. edge-.of each: radial rib .is beveled .as-at 26 and terminates in flats .27 The r-beveled .section of .then ribs will obviously .assistin. guiding the plug ;21 -into. the a drain pipe .11 .for. assemblypurposesa The. mechanismnfor. operating the drain :plug.-consists-. of av tubular pipe. 28-connected. atone end :tothe .-lateral-. extension. 20-.as by: a couplingmutz29 and atdts opposite. end, to..a .bushing ,30 suitably .secured to the .upperwall of. the lavatory bowl .10.

Slidably mounted .within. the'lateral extension 20--is..aplunger 31 :carrying, an:.O=ring,32.:for-sealiugengagement. withinsaid extension. The plunger 31. .is formed-with ans. inwardly extending .camebladea33 having a: terminat =pro.-.. jecting. nose 34 and .annpwardlypextending inclined-sure face 35. The blade 33 is slidablyzfittedina vertical-islet... 36in the .wall of the T-connectionandv withintheconfines of the tubular. extensionltl. This construction .serves.to. guide and maintain'the blade 33'in a vertical plane for. reasons as-Will appear later.v The plunger 3'1'is operated by a stiff wire 37 having one end anchored to the plunger and the opposite end to an operating knob 38 slidably fitted in the bushing 30.

In the operation of my drain valve, before the drain plug 21 is assembled, it is preferable to have the operating knob 38 in an elevated position as shown in FIG. 1 which will thus position the operating plunger 31 in retracted or drain closed position. In assembling the drain plug 21, it is only necessary to drop it into the drain pipe 11. The lower beveled ends 26 of the ribs 23 will obviously assist in guiding the valve plug into the drain pipe 11. If perchance, one of the cam engaging slots'25 does not immediately align with the projecting nose 34 of the cam blade 33, one of the flats 27 will thus come to rest upon the projecting nose as seen in FIG. 3. In this position, the head 22 of the drain plug 21 will be held in' an elevated position as shown in dotted outline in FIG. 1 and, thus, indicate to the operator that the plug is not in proper engagement with the cam blade 33. If such a condition exists, it is only necessary to rotate the plug 21 a slight distance whereupon one of the rib slots 25 will align with the cam projecting nose 34 to permit the said plug to drop into proper assembled position.

To open the drain valve, it is only necessary to press downwardly on the operating knob 38 wherein the plunger 33 will move to the left in the extension 20 and cause the inclined surface 35 of the cam blade 33 to bear against the edge opening of any one of the slots 25 in which said blade happens to be engaged and cause the plug to be elevated to drain open position.

It is to be noted that when the T-connection 15 is assembled to the drain pipe 11, the lower threaded end of said pipe will come to rest against the shoulder 18 of the beaded neck 16, and this stop predetermines the proper position of the axis of the lateral extension 20 to the valve seat 12 and in the right relationship to the over-all length of the valve plug 21.

It will be obvious from the above construction of the drain plug per se, and the particular manner in which it is connected to the cam blade 33 that when the drain plug is in drain open position, there are no transverse obstructions of any sort within the drain pipe 11 or the T-connection 15. In other words, the water draining out of a lavatory bowl has a free uninterrupted passage down through pipe without having to make any mechanical disconnec-- tions.

While only one form of the invention is disclosed, it will be obvious that minor changes in details of construction may be made coming within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a drain valve mechanism, a tubular drain pipe adapted to be connected to a lavatory bowl or the like, said drain pipe having a valve seat at its upper end, a drain plug having a head for closing said valve seat and a series of uninterrupted radial ribs integrally connected to the-underside of said plug head and extending a substantial distance into said drain pipe with their longitudinal outer edges in slidable engagementthroughout their length with the inner wall of said drain pipe, the lower portion of each of said ribs having a recess formed upwardly therein and opening outwardly through its longitudinal outer edges and through its bottom edges, and valve actuating means laterally entering said drain pipe and engageable in one of said rib recesses for operating said plug from a remote position.

2. In a drain valve mechanism, a tubular drain pipe adapted to be connected to a lavatory bowl or the like, said drain pipe having a valve seat at its upper end, a

drain plug having a head for closing said valve seat and a series of uninterrupted radial ribs integrally connected to the underside of said plug head and extending a substantial distance into said drain pipe with their longitudinal outer edges in slidable engagement throughout their length with the inner wall of said drain pipe, the lower portion of each of said ribs having a recess formed upwardly therein and opening outwardly through its longitudinal outer edges and through its bottom edges, a lateral extension connected to said drain pipe at a point adjacent the lower end of said drain plug, a plunger slidably operated in said extension, said plunger having a cam blade movable laterally within said drain pipe in slidable engagement in one of said rib recesses for elevating and retracting said drain valve, means for maintaining said blade in vertical position in said lateral extension, and means for operating said plunger from a remote position.

3. A drain valve mechanism as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for maintaining said blade in a vertical position consists of a slot in said drain pipe wall within the area defined by said lateral extension and within which slot said cam blade is slidably engaged.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 679,882 Bunting Aug. 6, 1901 773,408 Moore Oct. 25, 1904 1,462,853 Dehn July 24, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS 95,066 Sweden of 1939 

